JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand edged weaker on Wednesday, ending a brief recovery rally as intensifying tensions between Washington and Beijing prompted investors to stay on the sidelines.



At 0645 GMT the rand was 0.13% weaker at 17.5175 per dollar compared to Tuesday’s peak of 17.4200.



The currency has suffered sharp losses in the past two weeks, losing more than 7% of its value against the dollar as sentiment towards emerging market currencies soured with a pickup in the global economy seeming to be slower than initially hoped.



In early trade the dollar was a touch higher against a basket of major currencies.



Sentiment toward risk was soured by still simmering tensions between the United States and China, which were ratcheted higher with U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on TikTok and WeChat.



The rand has been weighed down by poor economic data pointing to a deep recession in South Africa in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic and a slow recovery in 2021. On Tuesday manufacturing figures for June showed a 16.3% year on year contraction after activity shrunk 32.4% in May.



Business confidence and retail sales figures due later in the session are also set to show a strained economy.



“Due to the fragile economy, the currency remains vulnerable, especially if risk aversion rises again,” said Commerzbank’s emerging market analyst Elisabeth Andreae in a note.



“The downside risks to (the) rand include not only an unfavourable course of the pandemic with further (major) waves of infection, but also renewed fears of an emerging market crisis or an escalation in US-Chinese relations.”

money-bill-note-south-africa

South African rand on backfoot as U.S.-China tensions prompt caution

TOKYO (Reuters) &#8211; Oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after an industry report showed that U.S. inventories of crude fell more than analysts expected, bolstering hopes that fuel demand in the world’s biggest economy can weather the coronavirus pandemic.



Brent crude LCOc1 was up 52 cents, or 1.2%, at $45.02 a barrel by 0648 GMT, after falling around 1% on Tuesday.



West Texas Intermediate CLc1 oil was up 49 cents, or 1.2%, at $42.10 a barrel, having dropped 0.8% in the previous session.



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The American Petroleum Institute [API] said on Tuesday that crude stocks fell by 4 million barrels last week, more than analysts’ expectations of draw of 2.9 million barrels. Official government data is due later on Wednesday. [EIA/S] [API/S]



The “fall in U.S. API crude inventories &#8230; the third sizeable weekly fall in a row, has supported prices today,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.



Still, growing uncertainty over a stalemate in Washington in talks for a stimulus package to support recovery from the deepest impact of the pandemic may weigh on prices looking ahead.



In India, demand for fuel in July dropped 10.8% from a year earlier, the fifth month of year-on-year declines, government data showed on Tuesday as a rise in coronavirus cases and floods in many parts of the country restricted economic activity.

oil-oil-production-oil-pump-heating-oil-crude-oil-thumbnail

Oil rises after bigger-than-expected drop in inventories

NEW YORK (Reuters) &#8211; Crude prices rose on Tuesday, underpinned by expectations of U.S. economic stimulus to support the world’s biggest oil consumer as well as a rebound in Asian demand as economies pick up



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Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 22 cents to $45.21 a barrel by (1543 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 32 cents to $42.26 a barrel.



On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that top congressional Democrats want to meet him to discuss coronavirus-related economic relief after talks broke down last week.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="438" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-352574" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2.jpg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-300x221.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-80x60.jpg 80w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-570x420.jpg 570w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump stands during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. The announcement comes a day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



“Talks of coronavirus-related economic relief in the U.S. help boost confidence among oil and gas firms, that have so far lacked the funds to invest this year, or were simply avoiding the risk in a depressed market,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy.



Signs of recovering Asian oil demand also boosted prices.



On Sunday, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said he expects oil demand to rebound in Asia as economies open up.



China’s factory deflation eased in July, driven by a rise in global oil prices and as industrial activity climbed back towards pre-coronavirus levels, adding to signs of recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.



Prices also found support from a rally in European stocks, which rose for a third straight session on Tuesday as automakers gained on firm Chinese sales data.



Meanwhile, European refinery crude intake in July rose 3.3% from June, Euroilstock data showed on Tuesday.



U.S. passenger airline traffic, which was slammed by the pandemic, was down 80% year on year in June, official figures showed, but was still nearly twice the levels in May.



Energy companies have begun taking back millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. government’s emergency stockpile after renting storage to manage a glut of crude this spring after energy demand collapsed during coronavirus lockdowns, a Department of Energy website showed on Monday.

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Oil gains on U.S. stimulus hopes and demand recovery

(Reuters) &#8211; Leaders from major U.S. companies, including banks and tech giants, have formed a group aimed at increasing the hiring of individuals from minority communities in New York.



The New York Jobs CEO Council, which counts chief executives from 27 firms among its members, aims to hire 100,000 people from low-income Black, Latino and Asian communities by 2030.



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Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/JPM.N">JPM.N</a>), IBM (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/IBM.N">IBM.N</a>) CEO Arvind Krishna and Accenture (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/ACN.N">ACN.N</a>) CEO Julie Sweet will co-chair the group.



Other companies in the group include Amazon.com Inc (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AMZN.O">AMZN.O</a>), Google, Microsoft Corp (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/MSFT.O">MSFT.O</a>) and Goldman Sachs (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/GS.N">GS.N</a>), according to a press statement.



U.S. companies have been under increasing pressure to do more to provide minority groups with access to opportunities in the wake of anti-racism protests sparked by the death of a 46-year-old African-American man, George Floyd. Floyd died in May after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.



The protests also came as minorities were disproportionately represented in coronavirus deaths, and lower-income communities in the United States were hit hard economically.



“Today’s economic crisis is exacerbating economic and racial divides and exposing systemic barriers to opportunity”, Dimon said in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, adding that often high-achieving people across New York were not given opportunities at the city’s top employers.



“Young people in low-income and minority communities feel this failure the most. Unless we actively work to close the gap, COVID-19 will make matters worse,” said the opinion piece which was co-authored with Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, the chancellor of the City University of New York.

Big U.S. companies form group to boost hiring of minorities in New York

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand weakened early on Tuesday, remaining on the back foot after a national holiday that kept liquidity low and investors tentative ahead of local manufacturing data.



At 0700 GMT the rand was 0.07% weaker at 17.7000 per dollar, having touched 17.7800 overnight, its weakest level in close to 12 weeks.



The currency has suffered sharp losses in the past two weeks, losing around 8% of its value against the dollar as sentiment towards emerging market currencies soured with a pickup in the global economy seeming to be slower than initially hoped.



In the past session, stalled talks in the U.S. Congress over a stimulus deal kept investors cautious, leaving the rand with little forward momentum.

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South African rand weakens in cautious trade

(Reuters) &#8211; Goods made in Hong Kong for export to the United States will need to be labelled as made in China after Sept. 25, according to a U.S. government notice posted on Tuesday.



The move follows China’s imposition of a national security law on Hong Kong and a U.S. decision to end the former British colony’s special status under U.S. law, escalating bilateral tensions that were already rising over trade war tariffs and the handling of the coronavirus outbreak.



The latest step will see Hong Kong companies subject to the same trade war tariffs levied on mainland Chinese exporters, should they make products subject to these duties, said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection notice.



It said that 45 days after its publication, goods “must be marked to indicate that their origin is ‘China’”.



The step was taken after the United States determined that Hong Kong is “no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify differential treatment in relation to China”.



Trump has made tough talk against China a feature of his campaign for re-election in November.



The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the city’s current and former police chiefs accused of curtailing political freedoms in the former British colony.



In retaliation, China imposed sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens including lawmakers from Trump’s Republican Party on Monday.



U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that companies from China and other countries that do not comply with U.S. accounting standards will be delisted from U.S. stock exchanges from the end of 2021.

Trump’s Renewed Fight With China Explained

Hong Kong goods for export to U.S. to be labelled made in China

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; The number of people in work in Britain fell by the most since 2009 in the three months through June as the coronavirus crisis took a heavy toll on the labour market, even with the government’s huge jobs protection scheme still in place.



Led by a record plunge in self-employed workers, there were 220,000 less people employed in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.



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Separate tax data for July showed that the number of staff on company payrolls had fallen by 730,000 since March, sounding the alarm about a potentially much bigger rise in joblessness.



Mounting job losses are expected as Britain winds down its job retention scheme which protects employees. It is due to close at the end of October.



“The cracks evident in the latest batch of labour market data are likely to soon turn into a chasm,” said Ruth Gregory, senior economist at Capital Economics.



British finance minister Rishi Sunak said the figures showed the government’s support programmes were working but job losses were inevitable.



“I’ve always been clear that we can’t protect every job, but &#8230; we have a clear plan to protect, support and create jobs to ensure that nobody is left without hope,” he said.



The unemployment rate unexpectedly held at 3.9% but that reflected an increase in people who had given up looking for work and who were therefore not considered to be unemployed, and people who said they were in work but were getting no pay.



Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%. Last week the Bank of England forecast the jobless rate would hit 7.5% at the end of this year.



“Government needs to step in and help those who are likely to lose their job retrain for new openings in different sectors,” KPMG economist Yael Selfin said.



The number of self-employed people fell by a record amount in the three months to June, led by older workers, while the number of employees rose &#8211; something the ONS said was partly accounted for by workers reclassifying themselves as employed.



The number of people claiming universal credit &#8211; a benefit for the unemployed and those on low pay &#8211; rose to 2.689 million in July, leaping by 117% from March.



Pay fell by the most in more than 10 years in the April-June period, down 1.2%, reflecting how workers on the job retention scheme receive 80% of their pay. Excluding bonuses, pay fell for the first time since records began in 2001.



However, there was a small increase in job vacancies in the three months to July.



“The increase was driven by small businesses (less than 50 employees), some of which reported taking on staff to meet coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines,” the ONS said.

london

UK suffers biggest job losses since 2009 as COVID hits

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria will reopen for international air travel in a matter of weeks, the aviation minister said on Thursday, without giving a specific date for the resumption after months of closure due to the global coronavirus pandemic.



“It will be in weeks rather than in months,” Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika told a regular briefing in the capital Abuja on coronavirus.



Nigeria began to close its airports in March, a month after Africa’s most populous country confirmed its first coronavirus case. Domestic air travel restarted last month.



The country has 44,890 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 900 deaths, figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control show.



Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Paul Carsten; editing by Barbara Lewis

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Nigeria to reopen for international air travel in weeks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. employers announced another 262,649 job cuts in July as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to weigh on demand, the latest indication that the labor market recovery is losing steam.



The layoffs reported by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &amp; Christmas on Thursday were up 54% from June.



The job cuts, the third-largest monthly total since the coronavirus pandemic began, followed data this week showing a big step-down in private payrolls in July and further contraction in employment at manufacturing and services industries.



Hiring announcements totaled 246,507 in July, almost matching layoffs, Challenger, Gray reported.



“The downturn is far from over, especially as COVID cases rise around the country,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray. “Consumers are buying fewer goods and services, businesses are closing, and bankruptcies are rising.”



July’s job cuts brought the total so far this year to 1.848 million, up 212% from the same period in 2019. The year-to-date layoffs are just 109,180 away from the record 1.957 million job cuts announced in 2001.



The weak labor market data raises the risk of a sharper slowdown in job growth in July. The Labor Department will publish its closely watched, and broader, monthly employment report on Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 1.6 million in July, down from the record 4.8 million jobs created in June.



According to Challenger, Gray &amp; Christmas, COVID-19 was cited as the reason for 63,517 job cuts in July. The respiratory illness has been blamed for 1.075 million layoffs so far this year. The balance of job cuts in July were attributed to market conditions, a downturn in demand and bankruptcies.



Several retailers including J.C. Penney and Lord &amp; Taylor have filed for bankruptcy since March. Job cuts remained concentrated at bars, restaurants, hotels and amusement parks. The automotive sector cut 83,853 jobs. Hiring announcements totaled 246,507 in July, almost matching layoffs.



“It is clear that many job losses are now permanent, and it will be challenging for many workers to find new jobs and feel safe taking jobs that are public-facing,” said Challenger.

US COVID-19

Job cuts announced by U.S. companies jump 54% in July: report

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand weakened early on Thursday, remaining near two-months lows, as investors continued to worry about the chances of a global economic recovery.



At 0700 GMT, the rand was down 0.32% at 17.3850 per dollar, backtracking again after a brief advance in the previous session, as the dollar fell amid a stalling economic recovery in the United States.



A bleak fiscal backdrop locally has largely been overshadowed by hopes global growth will recover, but that enthusiasm has faded this week as U.S. lawmakers disagreed on an extended stimulus program.



The rand has failed to benefit from the dollar’s decline, though, crashing to its lowest level since early June, with investors sitting on the fence.



The rand’s inability to capitalise on dollar weakness may, at least to some degree, be a function of South Africa’s own risks, said market economists at ETM Analytics in a note.



The country has Africa’s highest number of COVID-19 cases at more than 500,000 infections and was already in a three-quarter economic recession before the pandemic struck. It’s likely to see a slower recovery than its emerging-market peers, reducing demand for the rand.



On Wednesday, the HIS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index



showed factory activity remained in contraction, a mark of the slow pace of the rebound after strict lockdown was lifted in June.



Bonds gained, with the yield on the benchmark 2030 bond down 2 basis points at 9.305%.

South Africa’s rand weaker in tentative trade

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand inched up on Wednesday after dropping to two-months lows the day before, as some risk demand returned amid concern over the global economy.



At 0650 GMT the rand was up 0.4% to 17.3000 per dollar, after falling to 17.5350 in the previous session, its worst since early June.



“The rand traded on the back foot yesterday, despite local sellers of USD. This supply was easily absorbed by offshore-driven demand, with the rand an apparent proxy for all emerging-market currencies,” analysts at Nedbank said in a note.



“This morning, the rand has recovered from its worst levels. Globally, headlines are dominated by the news that the trade agreement between China and the U.S. would be evaluated later in the month.”



A delay in agreement over the latest coronavirus relief package in the United States has also slowed demand for the dollar, leading to some recovery in emerging-market assets.



Gold climbed to a record high on Wednesday, extending a run above $2,000. Demand for the safe haven reflected waning hopes for a quick recovery in the global economy.[GOL/]



Bonds gained, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 bond down 1.5 basis points to 9.320%.

ArcelorMittal South Africa fined R3.64 million over hydrogen sulfide emissions

South African rand creeps up after slipping to two-month low

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s economic downturn extended into last month, though businesses still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reported slightly less steep in output and new orders, a survey showed on Wednesday.



The pace of job losses also slowed, but July still saw the third-fastest reduction in employment on record.



The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 44.9 from 42.5 in June, its second increase in a row but still far below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.



Africa’s most industrialised economy imposed a hard lockdown in late March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It has gradually eased curbs on most economic activity since.



The July reading was the 15th in succession below 50, showing the downturn began well before the pandemic.



David Owen, economist at IHS Markit, said: “Businesses that remained closed or under working-from-home policies continued to report a weak level of sales, with exports also falling steeply.”



This led to a further cut-back to output, and further job losses.



“However, some firms are beginning to operate closer to normal capacity and are seeing an increase in demand. As lockdown restrictions are loosened, we expect more firms to move towards a recovery,” he said.



South Africa has recorded more than a half a million cases of COVID-19, the most in Africa, with the number of infections continuing to rise rapidly in recent weeks.



Government forecasts are for gross domestic product to shrink by at least 7% this year.

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South Africa’s sharp economic downturn extends into July – PMI

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand firmed slightly early on Tuesday, pausing after a five-session long steep slide as demand for U.S. dollars eased, and waited for new signals on the pace of a global economic recovery that has stalled in recent days.



At 0645 GMT the rand was 0.35% firmer at 17.1250 per dollar, having tumbled to a one-month low of 17.3400 on Monday as tepid local economic data and surging coronavirus infections around the world saw a rush to safe haven assets.



As local COVID-19 cases breached the 500,000 mark over the weekend, South Africa’s economy continued to show signs of a slower recovery as car sales and factory activity remained subdued.



“Sentiment has improved tentatively with Asian equities mostly in the green while demand for the USD has paused. While this has not yet translated into any ZAR gains, it has halted the local unit’s five-session bear-run,” economists at ETM Analytics said in a note.



Data showing 30 million people were out of work in the United States, added to deadlocked talks on a new coronavirus relief bill, cooled hopes that the world’s no.1 economy could lead a global recovery.



“Investors appear to be waiting for a new catalyst to provide fresh directional impetus after the dollar lost some of its momentum overnight, meaning the market may take on a more reactive approach to the day’s trade.”



Bonds were firmer, with the yield on benchmark 2030 government paper down 6.5 basis points at 9.215%.



In equities, supermarket chain Pick n Pay flagged a more than 50% fall in first-half earnings, weighed down by a ban on sales of alcohol, tobacco and clothes during the lockdown, as well as voluntary severance payments.

South Africa’s rand steadies as investors seek fresh recovery signals

NEW YORK (Reuters) &#8211; Oil prices were up more than 1% on Monday on positive economic data from the United States, Europe and Asia, but investors remained concerned about rising COVID-19 cases globally and oversupply as OPEC begins to lift supply cuts.



Brent crude settled at $44.15 a barrel, rising 63 cents, or 1.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 74 cents, or 1.8%, to end at $41.01 a barrel.



U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated to its highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in July as orders increased despite a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections, the Institute for Supply Management said.



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A similar survey showed manufacturing activity across the euro zone expanded last month for the first time since early 2019, while positive manufacturing data in Asia also boosted oil.



“The industrial sector is picking back up and that portends well for demand going forward,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.



Investors, however, continue to worry about the economic recovery as coronavirus cases climb, with known infections reaching almost 18 million globally. More countries are imposing new restrictions or extending existing curbs in an effort to control the pandemic.



The prospect of oversupply also weighed on oil prices as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, prepare to ease oil supply cuts while U.S. shale production begins to increase.



“I think the question is going to remain, as OPEC reduces their production cuts, are we going to continue to see oil inventories around the world decline,” said Andy Lipow or Lipow Oil Associates.



OPEC+ members have been cutting output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) since May. This month, cuts will taper to 7.7 million bpd until December.



Russian oil and gas condensate output increased to 9.8 million bpd over Aug. 1-2, from 9.37 million bpd in July, a source familiar with data said.

Oil rises more than 1% on hopes for economic recovery

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand fell to its weakest in more than three weeks on Monday, as fears about the economic fallout from rising COVID-19 cases dented investors’ appetite for riskier assets.



At 0625 GMT, the rand was 0.47% weaker at 17.1400 per dollar, its weakest since July 8.



Signs of a resurgence in global infections in recent days have tamed global demand for assets perceived as risky, putting pressure on the rand, which was already vulnerable because of the frailty of South Africa’s economy.



In South Africa, confirmed cases of COVID-19 crossed half a million on Saturday.



“Markets continue to dwell on uncertainty regarding trade tensions, U.S. elections and recovery, as well as rising virus numbers,” said Bianca Botes, executive director at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.



Government bonds weakened, and the yield on the benchmark bond due in 2030 rose 9 basis points to 9.335%.

South Africa’s rand falls as virus fears hit risk appetite

By Anu Shah



China is facing an unprecedented global backlash currently and many are advocating to look at India as its alternative.India has sensed an opportunity and is keen to make inroads to a space China is likely to vacate.



 The GDP/capita of India is $2000,similar to China in 2005. So will India replace China? One needs to understand fundamentals key to manufacturing to predict the outcome.



India has 1.2 billion people, and 65% of the population is below 35 years of age. English also seems to be an advantage of India. However, the literacy rate of India in 2019 is only 69% v/s 77% in China in 2005 and 96.8% in 2019. While this loophole makes Indian human resources cheaper it also reflects the lack of skilled or educated labour in the market. In 1990, the economic level of India and China were almost the same. However, in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in China, the EU imposed an arms embargo on China, followed by US economic sanctions,absteniations from the international banks, suspension of export licences etc.China hence called a truce with Taiwan, Japan, US, and made allies by getting in trade agreements with them. China is aware that in case of a recap of previous years its maritime lifeline can easily be cut off. So in 2001, China strived to join WTO and fostered deeper international trade ties. Which in effect helped China gain more volume ( > US and equal to EU) in trade. India has a better geo-political standing however it has not fully harnessed these relationships for the political (including resolving issues with Pakistan) or economic advancement. India has joined WTO since its foundation, but even now its total trade volume is less than Hong Kong. Post 1990 China dedicated its resources to the low skilled manufacturing and ousted competitors such as Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.In the early 21st century US, EU and Japan fought each other in the upscale market while China became a leader for primary and ordinary products. China has now reevaluated its strategy and is eyeing the upscale high tech market.The Chinese government has launched “Made in China 2025,” a state-led industrial policy that seeks to make China dominant in global high-tech. The program aims to use government subsidies, mobilize state-owned enterprises, and pursue intellectual property acquisition to catch up with—and surpass—Western technology across industries. This actually leaves room for India to undertake the industrial transfer from China. India can certainly take the baton from China in the low cost, low skilled manufacturing space with least effort. Lastly, China is 3 times the size of India and ranks first or at the forefront of the world in many resources. Example : Extensive deposits of coal, oil and gas. Yet with increased demands China imported 12% of the global coal and 20% of global oil imports in 2019. India is not abundant in coal, oil or gas. India imports 80% of its oil from OPEC nations and is unlikely to be self-sufficient e anytime soon. From this it seems like Manufacturing or economic growth of India would come at a higher cost than that of China, making it less competitive in pricing. All in all, it looks like with a lack of a proper internal policy infrastructure and stronger geopolitical play, India will only settle to be a low cost manufacturing hub to replace China.

anu shah

OPINION: Can India replace China as the manufacturing and tech hub

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya Airways (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/KQNA.NR">KQNA.NR</a>) resumed international flights on Saturday, heading to about 30 destinations for the first time since the routes were suspended in March due to the coronavirus.



The carrier, in which Air France KLM (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AIRF.PA">AIRF.PA</a>) holds a small stake, resumed domestic flights in mid-July after the government cleared local air travel.



“We announced we are starting with 27 destinations, we increased it to 30 just following demand,” Allan Kilavuka, the airline’s chief executive officer, said during a ceremony ahead of seeing off a flight to London.



He said for the rest of the year the airline expected demand to remain below 50% of capacity, but it would increase flight frequencies depending on demand.



“In fact 2020, we call it a lost year. Because at some point we even see demand of 25% in some months, in some months we see 38%,” he later told Reuters.



The COVID-19 pandemic has depressed the global aviation industry, with African carriers alone expected to lose $6 billion this year in revenue.



In July, Kenya Airways said it would lay off an unspecified number of number of workers, reduce its network and offload some assets due to the coronavirus crisis.



Kilavuka said so far the company had laid off some 650 people, mostly trainee pilots, trainee cabin crew, technician trainees and newly hired staff on probation.



“What I have to emphasise though is it’s not because we want to. Those employees have done nothing wrong. They are very good employees. It’s just that we cannot afford to keep them,” he said.



The airline was struggling long before the coronavirus outbreak, posting 2019 losses of almost 13 billion shillings ($120 million).



Last month the Nairobi Securities Exchange suspended trading of Kenya Airways shares for three months, citing the government’s plan to restructure the carrier, after it submitted to parliament a draft law on nationalising the airline.

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OPINION: Can India replace China as the manufacturing and tech hub

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Economy

South African rand on backfoot as U.S.-China tensions prompt caution

Oil rises after bigger-than-expected drop in inventories

Oil gains on U.S. stimulus hopes and demand recovery

Big U.S. companies form group to boost hiring of minorities in New York

South African rand weakens in cautious trade

Hong Kong goods for export to U.S. to be labelled made in China

UK suffers biggest job losses since 2009 as COVID hits

Nigeria to reopen for international air travel in weeks

Job cuts announced by U.S. companies jump 54% in July: report

South Africa’s rand weaker in tentative trade

South African rand creeps up after slipping to two-month low

South Africa’s sharp economic downturn extends into July – PMI

South Africa’s rand steadies as investors seek fresh recovery signals

Oil rises more than 1% on hopes for economic recovery

South Africa’s rand falls as virus fears hit risk appetite

OPINION: Can India replace China as the manufacturing and tech hub

Kenya Airways resumes international flights after virus curbs lifted

News Tips

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